Emissions Test Analyst Review

This placement was absolutely fantastic. I worked within the emissions testing department where there are many different tests going on and I was given the opportunity to explore all the different aspects, and the whole thing was very interesting. Employees working within my office were very relaxed and welcomed me straight away, and so I felt comfortable from the minute I started there. The only thing that I can criticise is that I personally would prefer a more active job, and this role involved sitting at a desk for the majority of the day, analysing data on the computer. A lot of jobs do not involve other colleagues' help or input, so you can find yourself working alone a lot, although there was always time in the day to have a casual chat with people around me.

I am extremely grateful to my colleagues for how much I was pushed in this placement. I was doing work that was actually being used by the company to present and analyse emissions testing data. They threw me in at the deep end by telling me I would have to learn a new computer programming language, and within a few days, I was able to use this language to complete tasks I was set. The more tasks I completed, the more tasks they trusted me with, and they always had faith in me that I would finish, even when at times I felt like I was out of my comfort zone. At no point did I feel like my colleagues were giving me simple 'dumbed down' tasks just because I was the intern; I was doing actual jobs that needed completing, and it gave me great satisfaction to know I was helping my colleagues out, too.

A lot of the time I was left to work things out for myself, which I think is good to some extent as it is a good way to learn, but I felt at times I would get stuck on a task, or not know exactly how something needed completing, and my supervisor would be in a meeting or busy and would not be able to help me. My colleagues were always very busy and did not always have the time to help me, or assign me tasks.

At the start, I found myself sitting around not doing much as my supervisor was quite busy and didn't really have time to assign me work. Further into the placement, my supervisor had more confidence in me and was able to give me tasks that he needed completing but didn't have time to do himself. My manager didn't expect me to complete the project assigned to me for the duration of the placement so quickly, so I didn't really have a project to complete for the rest of my placement. However, this gave me the chance to explore other parts of emissions testing and find out more about the company. I had time to organise my own projects, and learn about new upcoming programs. I feel like within JLR, there is plenty to do as long as you take the initiative to find things. There is plenty to see and so many different departments to learn about, that if you find yourself with no work assigned to you by your team, you have time to explore some really fascinating things,

I was given tasks that made a difference to the company and were being sent off to customers and other departments. It made me feel useful to the company, and a valued employee. I was very responsible for my own experiences: if I wanted to go off and explore another department or have my own meeting, my colleagues trusted me that I was still being productive and could make my own decisions. I wasn't spoon fed, and felt very much like this experience was what I made of it.

I'm so happy I got to do this placement when I did because it really will put me at an advantage for my last year of university. I got to practice my computer programming skills which will come in handy for my physics degree, and learnt about all the upcoming computer software being used by companies today. As well as this, I got to work in a fantastic team which taught me a lot about working with other people, and showed me what it's like and what kind of behaviours need to be displayed when working in an office environment. I didn't realise how closely people from different departments work together and send each other their work, so learning how people co operate and work to deliver to deadlines has really been eye opening.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere within my office. Everyone was very friendly, and made me feel like I was one of them straight away. Although everyone was very hardworking and had their own things to get on with, everyone knew how to have a laugh. There was a work social every month and other activities planned, which showed how friendly people were with each other, and made an active effort to get on and create a friendly and warm atmosphere. It was the perfect mix between professional and relaxed.

When I first joined, my manager had a project in place for me. We had a few meetings at the beginning to talk about what I wanted out of the placement and how I was getting on. Now, I feel like a regular employee, getting on with tasks that have been assigned to me, and my working day goes very smoothly. My supervisor set up meetings for me at the beginning with other members of the team so they could take me around different areas of emissions testing. They found it very important for me to learn about the company before setting me any major tasks, and have set me up very well now, as I feel very knowledgeable about emissions testing.

My team gave me as much time as I needed to get to grips with all the various softwares and languages being used. If I wanted to go to any talks, for example, about graduate schemes, that were on a different site, they were happy for me to take the time to travel there and get the most out of my experiences. Anything I wanted to see or do, they were happy to support, and even encouraged. I felt like I moulded my own placement and really had a say in my own personal development. I also got involved in undergraduate networking, which my team were very happy about, and I was able to organise my own meetings and events.

I would love to come back! The pay is very appealing, as well as the relaxed environment, and the genuine interest I have for the business. I have never been someone particularly interested in cars but there are so many fascinating areas within the company that I don't think anyone could find it boring! The graduate scheme allows you to do placements within different areas of the company, and this sounds extremely appealing to me, as I would love the opportunity to discover more.

I lived at home and I thought I wouldn't get to meet as many people as those living in student halls, but I got involved with organising undergraduate events and met so many new people. We organised lunches and talks which really bought everyone together and I could learn about what other people were up to within the company. There was one other undergraduate in my office, and we often helped each other out and supported each other during our placements.

There was a team social once a month, along with the occasional big trip within our smaller team. My colleagues were keen to invite me over for other events too. Other undergraduates also invited me to events outside work, so there were plenty of different things to get involved with.